PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen vowed on Thursday to “isolate and finish” exiled opposition figure Sam Rainsy, as the strongman continues to squeeze political challengers ahead of next year’s national election.
Stepping up the rhetoric against his longtime foe, Hun Sen told reporters on Thursday he would “eliminate the extremist ideology of three-generation traitor” Sam Rainsy to preserve the country’s peace.
Hun Sen also said he would “isolate and finish” the 73-year-old opposition figure, who had appealed on Sunday to the Cambodian people and army to liberate the country from the ruler’s family.
Hun Sen warned any political party with links to Sam Rainsy would face dissolution, and that people who offer him assistance could face repercussions.
His latest comments come a day after a Cambodian court sentenced Sam Rainsy — who has taken refuge in France, where he is a dual national — to life imprisonment for allegedly attempting to cede territory to a foreign entity.
Sam Rainsy is the co-founder of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was dissolved ahead of the 2018 general election in which the ruling party won all the seats.
Rights groups say 70-year-old Hun Sen — Asia’s longest-serving leader — has wound back democratic freedoms and used the courts to stifle opponents, jailing scores of opposition figures and activists.
Earlier this month a court in France cleared Sam Rainsy in a defamation case brought by Hun Sen.
Cambodia will come under the international spotlight next month when it hosts the Asean summit in Phnom Penh.
At a meeting of Asean foreign ministers in August, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concerns about the kingdom’s ailing democracy.